Upload
others
View
2
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Academic Job Search Process
Klara Nahrstedt Department of Computer Science
November 2, 2015
Academic Career Series Seminars
YOU SELECTED ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS TO APPLY TO, YOU PREPARED YOUR APPLICATION AND RESUME AND NOW WHAT?
Academic Career Series Seminars
Outline • Search Process at Academic InsCtuCons • InvitaCons for academic job interview • What to prepare for – Job talk – MeeCngs with faculty – MeeCngs with department head – MeeCngs with dean – MeeCngs with students – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner – Dress-‐code – Do’s and don’ts themes
• NegoCaCon of an Offer Academic Career Series Seminars
Faculty Search Process from Academic InsCtuCon Point of View
• Departmental Faculty Search CommiRee – When is faculty search commiRee created?
• Makeup of Search CommiRee – Who is on search commiRee?
• Goals of Search CommiRee – What is the charge of search commiRee?
• Interview Process – Whom should search commiRee select?
• Decision Process – Whom should we make an offer?
• NegoCaCon Process – What resources should a starCng faculty get?
Academic Career Series Seminars
Faculty Search Process from Interviewee’s Point of View
• You get an invitaCon for academic job interview and then what?
• You get asked/informed – What dates you may come
• Usually it is a two day interview (depends on the size of the department) • Usually you give job talk during the first day
– What will be your job talk Ctle, abstract, bio – Who will be your host (host is – should be -‐ your champion – use this fact)
– Who will be the assistant of your host (or other assistant)
Academic Career Series Seminars
InvitaCon (1)
• Decide on dates (keep calendar of your interviews) – Keep enough space between interviews so that you can make it in Cme, relax, …
– Keep interview calendar on your website (possible) • Prepare Ctle, abstract, short bio and send to assistant/host
• Contact host (or the host contacts you) • Work with assistant to setup hotel, travel, other requirements, dietary restricCons
Academic Career Series Seminars
InvitaCons (2) • Ask host quesCons prior to your visit – PresentaCon equipment, recording, meeCng students, …
• Get agenda for your visit from the host • Look up all faculty on your agenda – What’s their area – In your parCcular area, what’s the achievement of the faculty (papers, results, ..)
• Look up the campus, get familiar with the structure of the department/college (to the degree that you can see on the website) – E.g., if you interview in CS, make sure that you know in what college CS resides
Academic Career Series Seminars
PreparaCon of Academic Job Talk (1) • Write your talk early !!! – Don’t wait unCl last minute
• Prepare the talk with broader context – Show clearly the importance and implicaCons of your PhD work
• Focus on what main idea people should walk out of your talk
• Make your talk interesCng with good examples • Use inclusive language (he/she) – Be respecdul to all groups
• Be enthusiasCc about your research – It will reflect well about your teaching capabiliCes and how to engage students
• Use humor only if you feel comfortable using it (don’t force it) Academic Career Series Seminars
PreparaCon for Academic Job Talk (2) • The most important 50 minutes talk of your life • PracCce, pracCce, pracCce • Understand your audience – Very diverse faculty audience
• faculty from various areas, there might be only 4-‐5 faculty in your area, so your talk needs to impress all faculty (really difficulty)
– Very focused student audience • Finish on Cme !!! – If you go overCme, it is not good sign that you know how to control presentaCon Cme (how will you control your teaching presentaCons?)
• Leave Cme for quesCons – Answer quesCons briefly and to the point (if answer requires long answer, give brief answer and defer longer discussion aher the lecture) Academic Career Series Seminars
ApplicaCon Job Talk (3)
• PracCce in front of your friends – Q&A, feedback – Invite friends from different areas!!
• Do not concentrate on the non-‐responsive audience members – Look at people in the audience who are following your talk – Look at audience, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t see much response
• Stay in touch with your audience, but don’t change the flow of your talk during the talk based on audience feedback
Academic Career Series Seminars
Academic Job Talk (4) • Structure (approximate) – 10 minutes -‐ do introducCon into the problem and placement into the overall space (what was the starCng bar when you started your research) • Must be understood by everybody in the audience
– 20-‐25 minutes – show depth in your problem soluCon • Must impress faculty in your area and neighboring areas
– 10 minutes – show results • Must impress everybody – you should show that the soluCon to the problem introduced in the introducCon yields great results
– 5-‐10 minutes – provide impact of your research and vision for the future • Must provide enough informaCon that faculty understands what you will do when you join the department
Academic Career Series Seminars
Other Job Talk VariaCons
• Not all faculty will be at your talk (teaching, commiRee meeCngs, student exams, …)
• Prepare – 15-‐20 minutes summary of your research to give during a faculty meeCng (1-‐1 meeCng) • Consider if faculty is in your area or different area, head, or dean
– 5 minutes summary of your research – elevator speech to give to a faculty you meet in the hall or grad student who accompanies you from one meeCng to another
Academic Career Series Seminars
MeeCng Faculty
• Prepare for meeCng with faculty • Look carefully at the agenda • Divide faculty into three categories – Faculty in your area of experCse – Faculty in collaboraCve areas of your experCse – Faculty distant from your area of experCse
• Consider what to discuss with each faculty – Research accomplishments, impact, teaching, resources, collaboraCon between colleagues, departments, colleges, students, ….
Academic Career Series Seminars
MeeCng with department head • Prepare short pitch of your research – How will your research benefit to the department?
• Ask quesCons about – Teaching load – Resources (labs, assistants, IT, …) – CollaboraCve efforts – Centers in department – CollaboraCve efforts across departments – You can bring up a two body problem (you need to bring it up!!)
– Any other quesCon you have about the department, evaluaCon processes, resource allocaCon, teaching issues, sizes of classes, student quality, size of student body, alumni, employment of students, …..
Academic Career Series Seminars
MeeCng with dean
• Each interviewee meets with dean of the college (or two if you interview for interdisciplinary posiCon)
• Prepare short pitch of your research – Respond to quesCon – how will your research benefit to the college?
• Ask quesCons – Resources – CollaboraCve efforts between departments, colleges, – Centers and research labs – their role and how you can benefit from it
– Find out about iniCaCves at the college level (educaConal iniCaCves, research iniCaCves, ..)
Academic Career Series Seminars
MeeCng with students
• If meeCng with graduate students is not on the agenda, ask for it when you talk to the host prior to your visit
• Ask graduate students about – Resources (labs, office space, Tas, …) – CollaboraCve efforts – ARenCon to research, teaching, service, … – Support from department, …. – ….
Academic Career Series Seminars
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner themes • Breakfast – Usually you may meet with host to discuss the day ahead of you
– Ask quesCons – get clarificaCons when you heard some contradicCng messages
• Lunch and Dinner – Meet faculty in less formal senng and relax (see from agenda who is aRending)
– Ask more informal quesCons such as housing, life on campus, general informaCon about campus life, industry around campus, research park, social life in town, ….
• Understand table eCqueRe of the country/insCtuCon where you interview
Academic Career Series Seminars
Dress-‐Code • The first day of your visit (when you give job talk), you should dress more formally
• The second day of your visit, you can dress more casually, but I would ask the host about the general dress code of the insCtuCon (and expectaCons). – West coast is more casual, east coast as well as mid-‐west insCtuCons are more formal
• Female students – fully covered – formal dress or pens/jacket/blouse (first day)
• Male students – Ces with suite (first day)
Academic Career Series Seminars
Do’s and Don’ts • RecommendaCons: – Do ask about resources (in general), teaching load, students, faculty collaboraCon, grants, funding
– Show interest about the department, campus, edu environment
– Don’t ask during the first visit about salary, start-‐up packages, resources you need/want to get – this is all negoCable aher you get offer
– Don’t say bad things about your advisor, academic insCtuCon where you come from !!! (don’t brown-‐nose) People talk and it can come around to hunt you !!!
Academic Career Series Seminars
Do’s and Don’ts • Show interest in the interview/department/faculty !!! – Even if it is not your number one choice!!!
• Not only you are interviewed, but also you interview the faculty/department to find out if you and the department are a good fit for each other – Ask quesCons and respond to quesCons !!!
• Keep notes aher each interview what happened so that you can make comparison once you get offer –
Academic Career Series Seminars
WaiCng for Offer
• You can ask department head about the status
• You can update your resume – Inform the schools that you got best paper, or other important achievements
• You can let one school know about an offer from another school
• You should let one school know that you accepted offer from another school
Academic Career Series Seminars
Genng Offer • Decide if you want to have second visit with your family
• Get an offer leRer • Look carefully what the resources are • Decide if the resources are sufficient for you to do first class research
• Talk to department head and negoCate • Talk to faculty and ask quesCons how resource sharing occur – This is a unique Cme to get a lot of resources for your research
– Usually aher you accept offer, you don’t have many opportuniCes to get new resources such as startup funds.
Academic Career Series Seminars
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR ACADEMIC JOB SEARCH !
Academic Career Series Seminars
Resources
• Internet Resources – HRp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hEiZ7LkoLo – hRp://vpge.stanford.edu/docs/AC6.pdf – hRp://vpge.stanford.edu/docs/AC10_11reading7.pdf
Academic Career Series Seminars